More than 42 percent of 30-somethings in South Korea remained unmarried last year, census data showed Monday, underscoring the trend in which many young people delay or give up on marriage amid a prolonged economic slowdown. Out of 13.7 million singles aged 15 and older, 2.82 million people in their 30s were single last year, up from 2.68 million five years earlier, according to the 2020 census by Statistics Korea. The percentage of unmarried people in their 30s reached 42.5 percent last year, u

Men have taken up more than 20 percent of admissions for nursing universities in South Korea for the first time this year, data showed Monday. According to Jongro Academy, one of the country's leading educational institutions for college admissions, 2,249 male students entered nursing universities in 2021, accounting for 20.5 percent of the total 10,993. The tally was up by 161, or 7.7 percent, compared to 2,088 enrollments last year. This marked the first time the proportion of male admissions

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases remained in the 2000s for a second day Monday amid concerns the daily caseload may sharply increase as more people get tested after the extended holiday. The country reported 2,383 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,356 local infections, bringing the total caseload to 303,553, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload touched a fresh high of 3,272 on Saturday before slightly falling to 2,771 on Sunday. But health au

But with increase of less than 1 percent tally still stuck at mid-2016 level

A South Korean worker of a state-run facility currently used by hundreds of evacuees from Afghanistan as a temporary shelter was confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus Sunday, the Ministry of Justice said. According to the ministry, the employee of the National Human Resources Development Institute in the nation's central county of Jincheon tested positive for the virus. The worker reportedly was not in charge of duties related with the Afghan evacuees. Following the infection, the in

Potential post-holiday COVID-19 surge yet to arrive, experts say

South Korea will still be able to carry out its plan for a phased return to normal life, starting in late October, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Sunday, despite the recent surge in new coronavirus infections. Kim made the remarks at a forum, as the country is seeking to accelerate a return to normal life on the back of progress in the vaccination campaign, with small businesses suffering deepening economic woes due to prolonged social distancing curbs. "By late October, 70 percent of the

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases dropped below 3,000 on Sunday amid spiraling woes over the wide spread of the virus across the country due to the variants and the mass migration during the Chuseok holiday. The country reported 2,771 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,735 local infections, bringing the total caseload to 301,172, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Still, the figure is the second largest since the outbreak of COVID-19 in January last year in the

Eight service members and an Army civilian employee have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,732, the defense ministry said Saturday. Seven of them -- one airman, two Marines, three soldiers and an Army civilian employee -- were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 during or after a vacation, while the others were found to have been infected after developing symptoms, according to the ministry. The infections were re

Daily coronavirus cases in Seoul surpassed 1,000 for the first time following this week's Chuseok holiday, health authorities said Saturday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 1,222 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed during the 24 hours before midnight. Of them, 1,217 were local infections and five were imported cases. The number is far higher than the city's previous record high of 907 cases announced Friday. The city added three more deaths from COVID-19, raising th

South Korea is poised to begin administering COVID-19 vaccines to pregnant women and younger children starting next month as part of its inoculation campaign. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) will announce the list of fourth-quarter vaccine recipients next Monday to achieve its goal of herd immunity by November. The country's vaccination campaign started Feb. 26 with some virus-vulnerable groups and front-line medical workers being prioritized for inoculations. A total o

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases on Saturday exceeded 3,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic as people returned home from the Chuseok holiday. The country reported an all-time high number of daily cases for the second consecutive day by adding 3,273, including 3,245 local infections, raising the total caseload to 298,402, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Saturday's daily caseload jumped 839 from the previous day's record high of 2,43

The prosecution on Friday indicted a 56-year-old man on charges of killing two women while he was under a location monitoring program for sexual offenses. The suspect named Kang Yoon-seong turned himself in to the police in southern Seoul on Aug. 29 and confessed to murdering two acquaintances for money issues. According to investigators, he killed one woman while wearing an electronic ankle bracelet and slew the other while on the run after cutting off the device. The Seoul Dongbu District P

Experts fear the worst has yet to come

The number of convicted child sexual abusers has been growing steadily over the past few years in South Korea amid lenient penalties against such crimes, a judicial report showed Friday. According to the Supreme Court report submitted to Rep. Lee Tahney of the ruling Democratic Party, a total of 1,675 people have been found guilty of violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sex Offenses by district courts from 2016 to June this year. By year, 111 were convicted in 2016